The Pelagian Controversy: An Introduction to the Enemies of Grace and the Conspiracy of Lost Souls
Ebook
The Pelagian Controversy (411-431) was one of the most important theological controversies in the history of Christianity. It was a bitter and messy affair in the evening of the Roman Empire that addressed some of the most important questions that we ask about ourselves: Who are we? What does it mean to be a human being? Are we good, or are we evil? Are we burdened by an uncontrollable impulse to sin? Do we have free will? It was comprised by a group of men who were some of the greatest thinkers of Late Antiquity, such as Augustine, Jerome, John Cassian, Pelagius, Caelestius, and Julian of Eclanum. These men were deeply immersed in the rich Roman literary and intellectual traditions of that time, and they, along with many other great minds of this period, tried to create equally rich Christian literary and intellectual traditions. This controversy--which is usually of interest only to historians and theologians of Christianity--should be appreciated by a wide audience because it was the primary event that shaped the way Christians came to understand the human person for the next 1,600 years. It is still relevant today because anthropological questions continue to haunt our public discourse.
“Too often we pick winners and losers from the history of
Christianity and want the past to resemble our blinders in the
present. Stuart Squires has transcended the label of patrologist,
while still marshalling the historical evidence evenhandedly and
with mastery. His scholarly efforts will aid us in grasping one of
Christianity’s greatest battles with insight and fresh new eyes.
The Pelagian Controversy allows its protagonists to come to
life in a concise and crisp narrative. The last chapter is an
ecumenical tour de force, for the story winds its way from
the revival of the Augustinian position in the Protestant
Reformation up to the recent condemnations of ‘neopelagianism’ by
the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and Pope Francis.
Every class in the history of Christian doctrine should assign this
remarkable text.”
—Peter Casarella, University of Notre Dame
“The fifth-century controversy about sin, grace, free will, and
salvation was a complicated affair. The Pelagian
Controversy helpfully introduces students to the important
people involved and explains the key ideas. Squires has provided an
important and readable piece that links new ideas and old!”
—Thomas Humphries, Saint Leo University
- Title: The Pelagian Controversy: An Introduction to the Enemies of Grace and the Conspiracy of Lost Souls
- Author: Stuart Squires
- Publisher: Pickwick Publications
- Print Publication Date: 2019
- Logos Release Date: 2020
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Ebook
- ISBNs: 9781532637834, 9781532637810, 9781532637827, 1532637837, 1532637810, 1532637829
- Resource ID: LLS:9781532637834
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-29T14:41:52Z